Photos

Taylor Instrument Companies Photograph Archive
Digitized historical photographs documenting the factories, workforce, sales conferences, and daily operations of Taylor Instrument Companies (Rochester, N.Y.).

🔍

Can you help identify colleagues and faces? We have several group portraits and event photos with missing names. Visit our Unidentified Photos gallery to help put names to faces!

View Mystery Photos →

Facilities & Manufacturing

Photographs of the Ames Street headquarters, production floors, machine shops, assembly departments, and warehouse storage.

• 
  Machine Shop & Lathe Department
  Ames Street plant, ca. 1930s
• 
  Parts Room and Workbenches
  Ames Street plant, ca. 1930s
• 
  Instrument Assembly & Benchwork
  Working on a lathe at the Ames Street plant.
• 
  Instrument Assembly & Benchwork
  Working on lathes at the Ames Street plant.
• 
  Instrument Assembly & Benchwork
  Benchwork and fine assembly of precision instruments, Ames Street plant.
• 
  Ames Street Plant & Campus (Aerial View)
  Comprehensive view of the 300,000+ sq. ft. complex showing the rooftop weather observatory dome, water tower, rail spur, and employee athletic field in the foreground.
• 
  Pre-Development Parcels (1900 Plat Map)
  The block between Ames, Hague, West Ave, and the railroad before industrial construction, largely divided into residential tracts.
• 
  Initial Plant Footprint (1910 Plat Map)
  Taylor Instrument Companies' early manufacturing facility featuring the distinctive comb-tooth factory wings along Ames Street.
• 
  Peak Expansion & Athletic Field (1935 Plat Map)
  Full campus buildout showing expanded facilities and the official Taylor Instrument Co. Athletic Field and tennis courts along West Avenue.
• 
  Cleared Site (2021 Aerial Imagery)
  Present-day aerial view of the cleared 95 Ames Street parcel, where outlines of the former factory foundations remain visible in the soil.

Sales Conferences & Trade Shows

Annual conventions, regional sales meetings, and commercial product displays across the United States and international offices.

• 
  H&M Division Exposition Booth #164
  Industrial trade show display featuring Hohmann & Maurer indicating, recording, and controlling instruments, ca. 1910s–1920s.
• 
  Taylor Bros. Co. Exposition Demonstration (ca. 1890s)
  Live clinical thermometer glass-working booth featuring a tube-seasoning exhibit and display tower. (Restored preview; see original scan).

Staff & Department Portraits

Team photographs, department staff groups, and employee portraits.

• 
  The Factory Frontage (Nos. 59–99)
• 
  Group of Taylor Workers, possibly near the baseball fields.

See also: Alumni for individual employee career records and oral histories.

Centennial Celebration (1951)

Taylor celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1951 (1851–1951) with employee banquets, civic presentations, and historical exhibits.

• 
  Centennial Reception Committee (1951)
  Committee hostesses dressed in 1851 founder-era period gowns welcoming visitors at the Ames Street entrance during Taylor's 100th Anniversary celebration.
• 
  Centennial Exhibition Hall (Wide View)
  Overview of the Ames Street plant exhibition floor, including registration tables, commercial product exhibits, and employee displays.
• 
  Centennial Garden & Policy Exhibit
  Staged garden trellis patio (1851–1951) and bulletin display highlighting employee clubs, tenure statistics, and company policy.
• 
  Employee Policy & Club Exhibit Board
  Close-up of exhibit board detailing the Quarter Century Club (founded 1921), Fellowship Club (founded 1918), and workforce service records.
• 
  Information & Reception Desk
  Reception staff greeting visitors in the lobby, featuring plant illustrations, historic instrument cases, and company milestone placards.
• 
  Centennial Cake & Ice Cream Treat
  Hostess in 1851 period attire serving ice cream to a young guest in front of the multi-tiered 100th anniversary cake.
• 
  65 Years of Service — John Thompson & Raymond E. Olson (1951)
  Thermometer maker John Thompson (left), who served 65 continuous years (1884–1949), points out his original workbench to Vice President Raymond E. Olson on an archival print of the pre-1906 Taylor Brothers factory. (Centennial press release, March 1951).
• 
  Reflecting on Early Days
  VP Raymond E. Olson (left) with two unidentified colleagues beside the 1851–1951 Centennial seal and an early Taylor Brothers factory photograph.

Contributing Photographs

Do you have family or archival photographs of Taylor Instrument employees, facilities, or equipment? We would love to preserve and display them.

• Share them on the Forum in the Historical Media section.
• Or reach out to a site administrator to arrange high-resolution scans.